Fungi

A fungus (plural: fungi) is any member of a

large group of eukaryotic organisms that
includes microorganisms such as
• Yeasts
• Molds
• Mushrooms.
• Little is known of the true biodiversity of
Kingdom Fungi, which has been estimated at
1.5 million to 5 million species, with about 5%
of these having been formally classified
• These organisms are classified as a kingdom
, Fungi, which are separate from plants, animals
, protists, and bacteria.
• One major difference is that fungal cells have
cell walls that contain chitin, unlike the cell walls
of plants and some protists, which contain
cellulose, and unlike the cell walls of bacteria.
These and other differences show that the fungi
form a single group of related organisms,
named the Eumycota (true fungi or Eumycetes),
that share a common ancestor.
• The discipline of biology devoted to the study
of fungi is known as mycology.
• Genetic studies have shown that fungi are
more closely related to animals than to plants.
Abundant worldwide, most fungi are
inconspicuous because of the
• Small size of their structures, and their
• Cryptic life styles in soil,
• On dead matter, and
• As symbionts of plants, animals, or other fungi.
They may become noticeable when fruiting, either
as mushrooms or as molds.
• Fungi perform an essential role in the
decomposition of organic matter and have
fundamental roles in nutrient cycling and
exchange.
They have long been used as
• Direct source of food, such as mushrooms
and truffles,
• As a leavening agent for bread, and
• In fermentation of various food products, such
as wine, beer, and soy sauce
• The fruiting structures of a few species
contain psychotropic compounds and are
consumed recreationally or in traditional
spiritual ceremonies
• Since the 1940s, fungi have been used for the
production of antibiotics, and, more recently,
various enzymes produced by fungi are used
industrially and in detergents.
• Fungi are also used as biological pesticides to
control weeds, plant diseases and insect pests.
• Many species produce bioactive compounds
called mycotoxins, such as alkaloids and
polyketides that are toxic to animals including
humans.
• Fungi can break down manufactured materials
and buildings, and become significant
pathogens of humans and other animals.
• Losses of crops due to fungal diseases (e.g.
rice blast disease) or
• Food spoilage can have a large impact on
human food supplies and local economies.
• Fungi have been classified according to their
morphology (e.g., characteristics such as spore
color or microscopic features) or physiology.
• Advances in molecular genetics have opened
the way for DNA analysis to be incorporated
into taxonomy, which has sometimes
challenged the historical groupings based on
morphology and other traits.
• Phylogenetic studies published in the last
decade have helped reshape the classification
of Kingdom Fungi, which is divided into
• 1 subkingdom,
• 7 phyla, and
• 10 subphyla.
• A group of all the fungi present in a particular
area or geographic region is known as
mycobiota (plural noun, no singular), e.g. "the
mycobiota of Ireland".
• Before the introduction of molecular methods for
phylogenetic analysis, taxonomists considered fungi to
be members of the Plant Kingdom because of
Similarities in lifestyle:
• Both fungi and plants are mainly immobile, and
• Have similarities in general morphology and
• Growth habitat.
• Like plants, fungi often grow in soil,
• Mushrooms form conspicuous fruit bodies, which
sometimes resemble plants such as mosses
 Shared features
• With other Eukaryotes:
Like other eukaryotes, fungal cells contain
Membrane-bound Nuclei with chromosomes
that contain DNA with non coding regions
called introns and coding regions called
exons.
Fungi have membrane-bound cytoplasmic
organelles such as
• mitochondria,
• sterol-containing membranes, and
• ribosomes of the 80S type.
• soluble carbohydrates and
• storage compounds, including
 sugar alcohols (e.g., mannitol),
 disaccharides (e.g., trehalose), and
 polysaccharides (e.g., glycogen, which is also
found in animals).
 With animals:
• Fungi lack chloroplasts and
• Are heterotrophic organisms
 With Plants:
• Fungi have a cell wall and vacuoles.
• They reproduce by both sexual and asexual
means,
• Like basal plant groups (such as ferns and
mosses) produce spores.
• Similar to mosses and algae, fungi typically
have haploid nuclei.
 With Euglenoids and Bacteria:
• Higher fungi, euglenoids, and some bacteria
produce the amino acid L-lysine in specific
biosynthesis steps, called the α-aminoadipate
pathway.
 Bioluminescence
• In common with some plant and animal
species, more than 60 fungal species display
the phenomenon of bioluminescence
(Bioluminescence is the production and
emission of light by a living organism).
 Unique features
• Some species grow as unicellular yeasts that
reproduce by budding or binary fission.
• Dimorphic fungi can switch between a yeast
phase and a hyphal phase in response to
environmental conditions.
• The fungal cell wall is composed of glucans
and chitin; while the former compounds are
also found in plants and the latter in the
exoskeleton of arthropods, fungi are the only
organisms that combine these two structural
molecules in their cell wall.
 Advantages of Fungi
• 1. Primary agents of Decay
Biomass production in forest is controlled by
wood rotting fungi. If fungi (and bacteria)
were not present, there would be heaps of
dead organic matter on face of Earth. Fungi
are able to digest cellulose and lignin (major
components of plant cell walls) to simpler
organic matter. For
example, Ganoderma and Armillaria.
• 2. Medicinal Purposes
• Fungi are important source of antibiotics.
For example, Penicillin is extracted from Penicillium
chrysogenum.
Cephalosporins are antibiotics extracted
from Cephalosporium acremonium.
Ganoderma lucidum and Fomitopsis officinalis are
used in herbal medicines since ancient times.
• 3. Used as Food
• Many mushrooms have been grown to use as food.
These can be easily grown on waste materials like,
manure, wheat and rice straw, tobacco stems and
sawdust. For example, Agaricus brunnescens is
commonly called meadow mushroom. It is a rich
source of nutrition compared to all vegetables
except spinach and soybeans.
• Tricholoma magnivelare is called pine mushroom.
• Proteins called Mycoproteins are also harvested
from some fungi and used in food industry.
• 4. Baking and Brewing Industries
• Both these industries depend largely
upon Saccharoymyces cerevisiae.
• It converts glucose to ethyl alcohol and carbon
dioxide.
• In making of dessert wines, grapes are left in
the field to be infected with Botrytis cinerea
(the noble rot) which increases the sweetness
of grapes.
5. Mutualistic Associations
a) Mycorrhizae are the mutualistic association
of fungi with the roots of higher plants. This
association increases the ability of the plants
to absorb some nutrients and minerals which
cannot be absorbed by plant roots.
b) Lichens are the association of fungi with
algae. This association is so useful in colonizing
the bare rock surfaces where there would be
no life possible otherwise.
• c) Mutualistic associations of wood rotting
fungi with arthropods. The insect cultivate
the enzymes secreted by fungi (cellulase etc.)
and the insects ensure dispersal of fungi.
• 6. Biological control of Insects and
Arthropods
• Insects and arthropods are sometimes very
disastrous for crops and human populations.
In this regard, parasitic fungi of these insects
can be used for biological control of these
insects. There are species of fungi that attack
specific cicadas, flies, beetles, mosquitoes,
wasps, mites, spiders and even honeybees.
• 7. Bioremediation:
• Certain fungi, in particular "white rot" fungi, can
degrade
insecticides, herbicides,
pentachlorophenol, creosote, coal tars, and heavy fuels
and turn them into carbon dioxide, water, and basic
elements.
• Fungi have been shown to biomineralize uranium
oxides, suggesting they may have application in the
bioremediation of radioactively polluted sites.
 8. Model organisms:
• Several pivotal discoveries in biology were made by
researchers using fungi as model organisms, that is, fungi
that grow and sexually reproduce rapidly in the laboratory.
For example,
• the one gene-one enzyme hypothesis was formulated by
scientists using the bread mold Neurospora crassa to test
their biochemical theories. Other important model fungi
are Aspergillus nidulans and the yeasts Saccharomyces
cerevisiae and Schizosaccharomyces pombe, each of which
with a long history of use to investigate issues in
eukaryotic cell biology and genetics, such as cell cycle
regulation, chromatin structure, and gene regulation.
 Disadvantages of Fungi
1. Decay of Wooden Material
Fungi not only decay dead organic mass in the
forests but they also decay other wooden
materials such as wooden poles, furniture and
wooden ships. Fungi are also responsible for
rots and decay of fresh food stuff.
• 2. Diseases in Humans
• Aspergillosis is very common disease due
to Aspergillus sp. Spores or Aspergillus are air-
borne and cause this disease of lungs.
• Similarly, athletes’ foot, meningitis and allergic
responses due to inhalation of fungal spores in
air are also fungal borne disease.
• Dandruff in hair is also due to fungi.
• 3. Mycotoxins
• Fungi not only decay and rot the food
material, grains and standing crops. They also
secrete enzymes called Mycotoxins.
• These mycotoxins are harmful for human
health and if their level exceeds certain limits,
then consumption of such food stuff can even
lead to disease and death. Exports of rice are
affected by the one of these mycotoxins called
Alfatoxins
• 4. Plant Diseases
• Plant Pathology is the discipline of science which
is concerned with the study of disease in plants,
its control and management.
• About 80% of plant diseases are caused by fungi.
These include bitter examples of death and
famine due to fungal disease. For example, Irish
potato famine due to late blight of Potato (caused
by Phythophthora infestans), Dutch elm disease,
rust and smut disease of wheat and many more
diseases of plants.
• 5. Animal Diseases
• Fungi are also harmful to the animal and cattle
which graze from the contaminated sources.
6. Spoilage
• Fungi sometimes are parasitic to other fungi.
For example, many fungi are pathogenic to
edible mushrooms.
• Contamination of fermentation process of
alcohols and bakery products can cause
serious health issues for human which will
consume that food material.